HedgehogsBane
by Areiv
Summary: Eggman claims he's reformed. In fact, he invites Sonic and his friends to a dinner party. But will they leave unscathed? Previously called 'Friend or Foe'
1. The Invitation

_**A/N: This is probably set after Sonic Riders, and before Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. It is also set after Sonic X. If anyone knows what gender Cheese is, then I'd like to know. In Sonic X they said 'she', but I'm not sure. Sorry if this chapter's a bit boring.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the characters in this story.**_

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_Dear friends,_

_I have decided that Eggmanland will never come to exist anywhere but in my mind, what with you all thwarting me time and time again. In other words, I have left my old ways behind me, and have, as some would put it, turned over a new leaf._

_So, I invite you to a humble party hosted by me, of course, at the site of my previous base, which you destroyed. I have built a new structure on top of the ruins, and I would love it if you could all come._

_There will be a large feast, and dancing. I also have a special surprise for you, as well as a gift of a Chaos Emerald, which I have found after much searching. Actually, I have 6 Emeralds, and I believe Tails has the seventh._

_The party is in seven days, Friday the 13th__ of this month. I look forward to seeing you there._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Dr. Eggman_

--()--

"I don't believe a word of it."

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles were gathered at the Master Emerald, discussing a letter they had received that morning.

"Why not, Tails? If he says he's left his bad ways, then I say we trust him." Knuckles said.

"Because I DON'T trust him! And since when were we his 'friends' anyway?" Tails huffed.

"Well, if he's giving away Chaos Emeralds for free, I say we go, and if he tries anything funny, we run." Sonic said.

"Or fight," added Knuckles. "I don't run from a fight."

"I still don't like it…" mumbled Tails as Sonic rolled his eyes at Knuckles' statement.

"Don't worry buddy! If something bad happens, we'll be out in a flash!" Sonic grinned, but Tails still looked worried.

"I told you, I'm not going to run from a fight!" Knuckles growled.

"Whatever. But really, you have nothing to worry about, Tails. Just trust me, OK?" Sonic smiled as Tails nodded nervously.

--()--

"B-boss!"

Storm burst through the doors, slamming his huge palms onto Jet's desk. "What do you want this time?" Jet snapped, flapping Storm's hands off his desk.

"Have a look at this!" Storm shoved an letter into Jet's face."It's a bit hard for him to read when it's _that_ close," a purple swallow said from her position in the doorway. "Try giving it to him instead."

Storm glared at her, and while he was distracted, Jet snatched the paper from his hands. His eyes narrowed as he read the letter, and Wave came over to have a look over his shoulder.

"Idiot. Does he really think we'd fall for this?" Wave snorted, moving back to the front of the desk. "The whole 'friends' thing is going a bit far."

"But he says that they have a _feast!_ Free food!" Storm pleaded, smacking the desk with his hands again.

Jet winced as there was an odd cracking noise from the desk. "Stop it, Storm. I think you broke this one, too," he sighed. "If they're giving treasure, then let's go."

"'Don't you see? He _knows_ you'll go for the Chaos Emerald, he _knows_ Storm's gonna go for the buffet. It's probably a big trick." Wave said, glaring at Jet.

"Whatever. If I say we go, then we go. It's two against one." Jet said, emptying drawers from his desk. "Yeah, you _did_ break it, Storm. I think that's the 100th time you did that."

"S-sorry boss! I-I'll pay for a new one!" Storm stammered.

"Boys." Wave muttered to herself as she left the room.

--()--

"Cream! Didja get the invite?!"

Vanilla winced as Amy burst into her living room. "Please knock, Amy."

"Oh, I'm sorry Vanilla! Have you seen Cream and Cheese?" Amy blushed slightly, and looked around for her friends."Yes, they went out to play." Vanilla said, pointing out to the back of the house.

"Thanks Vanilla!" Amy called as she quickly walked out to their backyard. Vanilla discouraged running inside.

"Amy? Hi Amy! I thought I heard you come in!" Cream cried as Amy came through the back door.

"Hi Cream! Didja get the invite?" Amy said, and Cream pulled out of her hug, frowning.

"No…what invitation?" she said, confused.

"Chao! Chao chao chao!" Cheese floated into Amy's view, evidently annoyed that she/he/it wasn't greeted.

"Sorry Cheese! How are you?" Amy giggled and Cheese settled on her head.

"What invitation?" Cream repeated.

"The one that Eggman sent out…he says that he's throwing a party, and that he's not bad anymore." Amy explained, and Cream's eyes widened. "There's gonna be dancing, and a feast…I can't wait!" Amy said dreamily. "And I bet Sonic's gonna come too!"

"A party? Wow, that's amazing! I'd love to come! I'll just go ask mummy if she got the invitation!" Cream half-squealed in excitement, racing back into the house.

"No running in the house, sweetie." Vanilla called, and Amy heard Cream's footsteps slowing.

A minute later, Cream walked out of the door. "So? Did she get it?" Amy asked.

"Yep! And she said I could go!" Cream smiled up at Amy. "But only if you take care of me and make sure I don't get into trouble," she added, her voice dropping into a more serious tone.

"Of course I will! I'll take care of both you and Cheese!" Amy giggled as the duo cheered.

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_Please review!_


	2. Arrival

_**  
A/N: Again, thank you to all who reviewed, and I'm updating…duh. Rouge comes in in this chapter. I still dunno what Cheese's gender is, so she shall be a girl. I'll have some actual adventure either in the next chapter, or the one after.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the characters in this story.**_

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"A party…with Chaos Emeralds…" Rouge muttered to herself as she cradled a large diamond. "I suppose it's worth going to…free jewels are always good."

Standing up, the bat tucked the diamond away, and spread her wings, flying off into the night.

--()--

"_Soooooniiiiiic!!!"_

The blue hedgehog winced as Amy slammed into him while trying to hug him. "I'm SO glad you're here! We can go to the party together!" Amy squealed, letting go of Sonic, turning him around to face her.

"Good to see you too, Amy." Sonic sighed. He'd planned on just going with Tails and Knuckles, but, of course, Amy would have none of that.

"So…um…where are we going? I mean, I'm not really sure where his last base was, so you can show me! And Cream and Cheese!" Amy beckoned to the rabbit, who was hanging back a bit as Amy ranted on and on about the party. She came up, smiling, Cheese on her head.

"We'll go as soon as Tails and Knuckles get here." Sonic said, trying to pry Amy off his arm.

"What? Go with those two? But I just wanted it to be you and me!" Amy wailed, getting them weird looks from a passing family of dogs.

Amy started dragging him down the street, ignoring his protests. "I can't just leave my best friends!" Sonic frowned. "And we're going the wrong way." Amy stopped, and dragged him the other way. "You don't know where you're going!"

"I don't care. You're coming with me." Amy muttered, then looked up at the noise of a plane coming down. "Aww, they're here already!" The X Tornado, with Tails and Knuckles inside, landed in the park.

"Hi Sonic! Hi Amy, Cream!" Tails called cheerfully from his seat in the X Tornado, completely oblivious to Amy's annoyance. Knuckles clambered out, nodding a greeting to the group clustered around Sonic.

"You could at least say hello!" Amy huffed, glaring at the two.

"Hello. Happy?" Knuckles said. "What's that bat doing here?"

Rouge had flown in while they were talking. "Hello, Knuckie. And the rest of you."

"I told you not to call me that!" Knuckles growled, banging his fists together.

"Whatever, _Knuckie_." Rouge tossed her hair back, grinning down from her seat on a roof.

"Just ignore her. She was probably invited too." Sonic said, still trying to get Amy's death grip off his arm. "Amy, you're cutting off circulation."

"Let's go, then! We'll be laaaate!" Amy cried. "Lead the way, Sonic!"

"Tails and Knuckles know the way too." Sonic frowned. "My arm's hurting, Amy!" She loosened her grip a bit, but still hung on as if her life depended on it. The group started to walk, Rouge flying overhead.

--()--

"We're heeeere!" sang Amy as she burst through the doors. She stopped as she stared at the room.

"Move it, Amy. It's cold outside, y'know." Rouge pushed past Amy rudely, and looked around the room.

Garlands were hung all around the huge room, a stage at the far back, and a table resting on a polished wooden floor. In the corners of the ceiling, gleaming speakers hung, while an exquisite chandelier cast light over everything, sprouting from the middle of the ceiling. A chair was at each end of the table, with six around the sides.

A robot trundled towards them from the corner. "Welcome, guests. Sonic the Hedgehog, identified."

As the robot reeled out their names, a large gap opened in the wall. Eggman emerged, and grinned maniacally. "Hello and welcome, friends! I'm gratified that you came! The Chaotix and the Babylon Rogues were supposed to come, but they had…problems…" he frowned, but then the grin came back. "Anyway, we shall have the meal now! Choose a seat, sit yourself down, and my robots will serve up the food!" Eggman sat down at the head of the table.

--()--

"_Eggman. Um, is this thing working?" Jet looked away from the screen._

"_Yes, it is. He can see you." Wave said from off-screen._

"_Right. Uh, we're not coming for reasons unknown to me." Jet sighed._

_Wave pushed into the screen. "Eggman, if you've _really _reformed, then _prove it!_ Until then, we're not coming. Really, you could be lying, and the party could just be a trap!"_

_After that, the message ended. Eggman sighed. Three guests gone. Then the screen flashed on again._

"_Eggman, We're sorry that we can't come. Really, we'd love to, but a very important case has come up. We can't refuse, they're paying a lot. A small fortune, really." Vector said from the screen, before it blanked out._

_Frowning, Eggman got up, and left the room. Six guests gone. Just seven left…_

--()--

"Sonic! Sit with me!" Amy squealed, dragging him over to a seat. Cream sat on Amy's other side, leaving no room for Tails and Knuckles to sit next to Sonic, since Eggman was on his other side.

Tails sat as far from Eggman as possible, while Knuckles sat next to him. Rouge sat on Eggman's other side. "Hope you don't mind of I sit here, Knuckie."

"Just ignore her, Knuckles." Tails sighed.

The walls opened up in various places around the room. Robots streamed out, and laid plates, cutlery and food down on the table.

"Come on, eat up!" Eggman cried, and started eating messily.

"You'd think, if someone was that smart, they'd have table manners." Amy murmured to Cream, who nodded, averting her eyes from Eggman's messy eating.

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_Please review.  
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	3. After the Meal

**_A/N: I HAVE CHANGED MY PEN NAME TO AREIV. I hope this does not cause any inconvenience, but it's more convenient for me.  
Thanks to sonicspeedx13, TailsLovesCosmo, maripinkkirby and cat2772 for reviewing. Yes, I have also changed the title since I have finally figured out what's going to happen for most of the main storyline…just not the ending. _-_-; _Anyway, it seemed fitting. The first part of this chapter's kinda random, but needed.  
_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega or any of the characters in this story so far._**

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Cream stared at the dish in front of her with disgust. Cheese did the same, over her shoulder. "I can't eat this." she announced, pushing it away from her.

"What's wrong with it?" Amy asked, looking over at the plate.

"It's just insulting!" Cream cried, folding her arms in some sort of defiance, giving the poor food a death stare.

"What is that, anyway?"

"Cream cheese."

--()--

The meal continued on in silence. Cream and Cheese had left, insulted at the dish. "I still don't get why they got insulted. It's a _name!_ Why should they be insulted?" Amy muttered to Sonic after the meal was finished.

"I dunno. Don't ask me." Sonic sighed. Amy had been going on like that for the past five minutes.

"Please stand back from the table!" Eggman cried, clapping his hands. Everyone scrambled back from the table, just before it sank into the ground, along with the chairs and dirty dishes.

"Ooh, now are we going to have the dancing?" Amy hugged Sonic's arm tightly.

"Not just yet, Amy! It's not good to exercise just after you eat, you know." Eggman cried heartily.

None of the guests present thought that Eggman exercised at all, but they all kept that thought to themselves.

--()--

After the dancing, which consisted of Amy dragging Sonic around, Rouge following Knuckles everywhere and Tails sitting around feeling lonely, the robot band vanished into the floor along with their instruments. Eggman had also gone somewhere.

"Where's Eggman?" Sonic looked around the room, but couldn't see anything. Suddenly, static erupted from the speakers, deafening everyone in the room momentarily.

"You really didn't think I would stop, did you?" Eggman's voice boomed out over the static, followed by his trademark laugh.

Pink gas flowed out of the walls and ceiling, clogging the air and making it hard to see.

"I don't believe it! He…betrayed us…aga-" Knuckles said, his words becoming slurred and sleepy. Then he collapsed, flopping forward.

"Knuckie!" Rouge gasped, inhaling more of the gas. She caught him just as he was about to hit the floor, and set him gently on the ground.

"Sonic? What's going on? I feel…sleepy…" Amy fell onto Sonic, making him stagger and fall as well, snoring gently.

Tails and Rouge followed, and as soon as Tails hit the ground, the gas cleared to reveal Eggman standing over them, a smile plastered onto his face behind the gas mask.

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_Like I said, the first bit is random, but I needed it, or something like it. It's rather short, but I wanted it to end just there.  
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_Please review!_


	4. Escape

_A/N: Thanks to Jazza Mazza, sonicspeedx13, TailsLovesCosmo and cat2772 for reviewing. Congratulations if you guessed that Eggman was betraying them. Kinda obvious, but oh well._

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the characters in this story so far. The 'cream cheese' idea was by cat2772.**_

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"Sonic. Sonic? C'mon, wake up, Sonic."

"Sonic! Wake up!"

"Shush, if Eggman put guards here, they'll hear you."

"How are they going to hear me from far off if Sonic can't hear me from a metre in front of me?"

"I don't know! Sonic, wake up."

"Oh, forget this! Sonic! Come on, wakey-wakey!"

"He's not waking up."

"Then we'll just bust him out anyway!"

_CRASH!_

"Knuckles! Did you hear anything that I just said?"

"What would you do if I said 'no'?"

A sigh. "Just…help me get him out of here."

--()--

Sonic opened his eyes blearily. "My head hurts," he muttered.

"Oh look. He's awake. Now you can walk." Knuckles put him down roughly, before turning to Tails, who was struggling along with Amy in his arms.

"Oh good. How are you feeling, Sonic?" Tails handed Amy to Knuckles, ignoring his complaints.

"Like my head was smashed in by…something very heavy." Sonic murmured, before swaying and fainting again.

"Aw, not again." Tails muttered, taking Amy back from Knuckles.

"Wonder what's wrong with them."

"I dunno. Shouldn't we free Rouge?"

"I guess. You can do that."

"Fine. But you'll have to hold both of them while I pick the lock."

"Whatever."

They started towards Rouge's cell, but stopped when they saw the twisted remains of the bars. "Well that was useless." Tails sighed, looking around for the bat.

"She must've escaped already. Let's go now." Knuckles grunted, setting off down a corridor.

"Wrong way, Knuckie."

"Stop sneaking up on us." Knuckles turned the other way, looking up at the roof at Rouge.

"I wasn't sneaking. You just didn't look."

"Just shut up!"

--()--

"There's definitely something wrong. They still haven't woken up." Tails blew on his hot chocolate.

"Then do one of your experiments or whatever." Knuckles said, stretching. He'd agreed to stay at Tails' place until Sonic and Amy were okay.

"I'll do one tomorrow. I still feel sleepy from that gas." Tails muttered, downing the last of the beverage and getting up.

--()--

"I don't get it. Sonic! Amy! Hellooo?" Knuckles yelled into each hedgehogs' ear.

"Move, I need to examine them." Tails frowned at Sonic's prone form. "I'll take some blood samples."

--()--

"I think they're poisoned. Something was probably in the food." Tails slumped over in his chair, rubbing his head.

"Then why weren't we affected?" Knuckles asked.

"I think it only affects hedgehogs. Amy ate more than Sonic, so only Sonic woke up back at Eggman's base." Tails explained.

"This sucks. How are we going to cure them?"

"Well, we'll have to somehow find or make an antidote."

"Yeah, but how?"

"Umm…let me think about it."

"Fine, _genius._ Think on it. I'm going out for a walk." Knuckles left, slamming the door behind him.

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_I always seem to do my updates at night. Weird. I need to plan (yes, I know, rather unorganised of me), but then I'll update. Ugh. My updates are getting shorter...and shorter...I'm sorry about that.  
_

_Please review!_


	5. Message

_A/N: Thanks to cat2772, TailsLovesCosmo and sonicspeedx13 for reviewing. Sorry about the wait, I had a lack of ideas for a while. I'm not too sure how to spell Bokkun, or Bocoon, or Bokoon, or-I'll stop now. I _think_ it's Bokkun, but I'm not sure. Italics are the characters' thoughts._

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the characters in this story so far.**_

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"Message for you!"

_Not that annoying little thingamajig again…_ Knuckles looked up to see Bokkun hovering just out of his reach.

"Where's Tails?" Bokkun started doing loops in the air.

"Inside. What do you want?" Knuckles growled, resuming his walk.

"I told you, I have a message for you and Tails! Show me where he is so I can give both of you the message!" Bokkun squealed, then flipped over to hang upside-down. "Whoa, everything looks so _weird_ like this!"

"Whatever." Knuckles turned to walk back to the house, Bokkun trailing along above him.

--()--

"Oh, Knuckles, you're back already?" Tails looked up from his computer.

"Message for you!" Bokkun pulled his yellow TV from his bag, which made it turn on. After dumping it onto Sonic, he flew away, giggling hysterically.

"Hello Tails, Knuckles." Eggman's face grinned out of the TV screen. "I trust you enjoyed my little surprise at the party?" His trademark maniacal laugh boomed out of the little television.

"What does he want now?" Tails muttered to Knuckles, who shrugged.

"Now, if you want to help your friends, then I suggest you listen and cooperate. I'm sure you have seen that they are poisoned, Tails. If they do not receive the antidote within one month, they will die. You don't want that, right? So listen to my request now. If you give me the Chaos Emeralds, then I will give you the antidote - enough to cure them. You can't make an antidote, though, so don't try. And I won't be fooled by fake Chaos Emeralds. I'll be waiting." The screen filled with static, before Eggman's face appeared again. "And here's another surprise!"

Tails dived under a table just as the TV exploded, but the hedgehogs, Knuckles and part of the room were left exposed to the bang. Sonic started hacking and coughing, almost falling off the bed before Tails pushed him back. Amy sneezed a few times, before settling back down.

"I hate that Eggman!" roared Knuckles, slamming his fist into the wall.

Tails sighed at the small hole in his wall. "Knuckles, calm down, and don't demolish my house."

"What are we going to do? We can't let them die, we can't give him the Chaos Emeralds!" Knuckles almost hit the wall again before Tails grabbed his arm.

"Stop it, Knuckles. Don't take it out on my house. Now, we're going to give him the Chaos Emeralds, and hope that Sonic can get them back when he's recovered."

"Who says he's going to give us the antidote?"

"He'll have to…unless you have a better idea."

"Get Rouge to steal it."

"Wow, that's the smartest thing you've said all day, Knucklehead." Sonic sat up from the bed, grinning.

"Sonic! You have to rest!" Tails sprang up, pushing him back down.

"I feel fine, Tails. Just tired, and a little dizzy." Sonic sat up again, glancing over at Amy, who now had her eyes open. "I was awake, but I couldn't move. Now, let's go find Rouge."

"You can't, Sonic! You're poisoned!" Tails tried to push him down again, but Sonic waved him away.

"I'm fine. Really. I suppose Eggy wanted me to help you guys."

"You can help if Rouge fails." Knuckles returned Tails' fierce glare, adding, "We need all the help we can get."

"You rest while Rouge goes." said Tails, glaring at Sonic, then at Amy, who sat up in her bed as well.

"Oh, why did I eat so much?" Amy wailed.

"Right. Let's go get Rouge." Tails practically dragged Knuckles to the door. He swung the door open, turning to glare at the reluctant echidna. "Oh come on, what's the problem now?"

"Who says I'm going to help you?" Rouge jumped down from the roof before turning around to face the two surprised boys.

"What, you mean you're just gonna let them die?!" Tails snapped at her."Good point. The thing is, how do I know what the antidote looks like? It's not like Eggman's gonna show me." Rouge said.

"How should I know? You're the thief, just grab any bottles of liquid you see." Knuckles pulled his arm out of Tails' grasp.

"Who says it's liquid?" Tails pointed out.

Rouge nodded. "It could be a tablet, or something."

"Just grab anything that looks like it could be the antidote!" Knuckles snapped.

"Or, if you fail, we can just give Sonic the Chaos Emeralds and see if they can heal him and Amy!" Tails grinned.

"You have such little faith in me? I'm insulted." Rouge turned around as if to fly away.

"I'm just saying, we have no idea what the antidote looks like! And it's good to have a Plan B!" Tails argued.

"Whatever. I'm going now." Rouge started to fly away, before Tails yelled at her to come back.

"Why? I thought you wanted me to go steal the antidote." Rouge smirked at the fox, who glared at her. "But, if you don't want me to…"

"No, no. Go! I thought you were just going home or something." Tails walked back inside.

--()--

_Now, where can that antidote be?_ Rouge looked around the metal corridors, walking calmly through Eggman's headquarters. She came to a door, with a keypad next to it. The bat grinned, flapping her wings to float to the ceiling. _Let's have a look in here…_

She spun down to the door, her right foot leading, and crashed through it, landing in a round room with a glass pillar in the middle. _Is this it? What's that in there?_

Stepping up to the control panel, she stared into the glass chamber._ And there it is. Easy. Too easy, really._ Suspicion flickered in Rouge's mind, and she looked around the room uneasily. _Is he watching me? Does he have some robot ready to attack me?_

A quick glance around the control panel revealed the 'Open' lever. Rouge pulled it down, jumping back as the glass rose up. A gloved hand reached in, fumbling for the vials labelled 'antidote'.

_What? Why can't I grab it? _Rouge's hand passed right through the vials, which flickered and disappeared.

The room shuddered; the three doors had silently slid closed to lock Rouge in, the one she had crashed through quickly repairing itself.

With a cry, Rouge launched herself at the doors, spinning around in mid-air to make herself a small tornado, powerful enough to smash the door down.

Upon impact on the metal, electricity coursed through the bat's body, leaving her lying on the floor, motionless.

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_Please review!_


	6. The Marsh

_A/N: Thanks to Jazza Mazza and cat2772 for reviewing. Italics are the characters' thoughts. Is the X-Tornado a jet? Or what? I think it's a jet…Heh, I don't know anything, do I? _^_^;

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the characters in this story so far.**_

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Knuckles started pacing around the room. It was morning; Sonic, Tails and Amy were sitting around the table, eating their breakfast. "She should be back by now!" Knuckles said for the hundredth time that day.

"Calm down and stop it, Knuckles." Tails shovelled more food onto the hedgehogs' plates.

"Yeah, I'd even say that you've started to care." Sonic said through a mouthful of chilli dog.

"Shut up!" Knuckles sat down heavily. "It's just that it's been ages. I can't help but think that she's been caught."

"You? Think?" Sonic sprayed sausage and chilli over his plate as he stifled a laugh. "Pigs might fly."

Ignoring him, Knuckles stared out the window.

"I think he likes her." Amy whispered to Tails, who shrugged.

"We're all worried. It's been hours, it shouldn't take this long." He pushed his chair back, heading to the kitchen counter. "Coffee, anyone?"

--()--

"Message for you! Gee, that's the second one today." Bokkun flew through the window, knocking Knuckles' mug of coffee over.

"Yes. We know, we can count." Tails said dryly, wiping up the hot beverage.

"I've got a message! Here!" Bokkun thrust the television at Sonic, before flying back out the window.

"Sonic, I'm disappointed in you." Eggman grinned wickedly from the small screen. "Sending poor Rouge to do your work for you? Needless to say, she was caught, and is now my prisoner. She can't escape, so you'd better get those Chaos Emeralds for me quickly if you want to live. And, to make sure you don't try any more funny business, I've sent someone ahead to search for the Chaos Emeralds too. If you get me the seven Chaos Emeralds before him, then I'll give you the antidote. Here's another surpr-" Sonic quickly tossed the TV out the window, and they heard Eggman's maniacal laughter before it exploded, throwing grass and dirt up in the air.

"I knew it!" Knuckles growled.

"We don't have a choice now." Tails looked worried, and stared out the window.

"Tails, I'm serious. I feel fine!" Sonic insisted.

"There was probably a bit of antidote in the smoke before, letting you recover a bit." Tails snapped. "In a month, you'll be even worse!"

"Can't you copy the medicine from blood samples or something?"

"I already tried last night. I took some blood when you were sleeping." Catching their looks of annoyance, he shrugged. "Sorry."

"Well, we'll have to go get the Chaos Emeralds." Sonic sighed. "C'mon Tails, don't you have one powering the X-Tornado?"

"Yeah, we can use that to track down the rest." Tails led them to his huge underground garage. "I built a ship in case we were gonna go travelling, and still living in the ship. She's not as big as the Blue Typhoon, though. I haven't named her yet, though."

The ship was just like a small version of the huge space ship next to it, the same shape and colour.

"How about the Blue Typhoon Junior?" Amy said.

"Alright, Blue Typhoon Junior it is."

--()--

"Mummy, can me and Cheese-"

"Cheese and I." Vanilla corrected her daughter, smiling gently at her.

"Can Cheese and I go to Tails' place? I wanna make sure they're okay, since you didn't let me before." Cream hugged Cheese close to her, eyes pleading.

"Of course you can, dear. Just tell me if you go anywhere else."

"Thanks mummy!" Cream sprinted out the door, ignoring her mother's calls of "Don't run in the house, dear!"

A shadow fell across the lawn, making Cream look up. The Blue Typhoon Junior was overhead, flying fast to the west. Her face set, Cream started flapping her large ears, soon levelling with the Blue Typhoon Junior. "Hi Sonic! Where are you all going?" Cream landed on the wing, smiling innocently at Sonic.

"Looking for the Chaos Emeralds." Sonic grinned at the little rabbit.

"Can I come too?" Cream bounced up and down in excitement. The most fun she'd had the past couple of days was going to the park.

"Ask your mother first." Sonic tapped on the glass separating him and Tails. "Oi! Slow down, Cream's coming!"

--()--

"That's terrible, Amy!" Cream stared at her, horrified as she relayed the events of the past few days.

"Chao chao!" Cheese lay on Cream's head.

"Don't worry about it, I feel fine." Amy smiled gently at the young duo.

"Hey, there's a Chaos Emerald here somewhere!" Tails called.

"Oh great. We're over a marsh." Amy stared down glumly at the tall trees and huge lakes.

--()--

"Where is the stupid thing?! It's been hours, Tails!" Amy groaned from her seat in the back of the transformed walking X-Tornado.

"It's here!" Tails squinted as the blue Chaos Emerald in his device started shining brighter than ever. "It's just over by that tree, I think! A bit deep, we'll have to dig it out!"

"Hope you brought shovels, Tails. I'm not looking forward to digging that out with my hands, buddy." Sonic stared into the bog.

"Yep! The X-Tornado has one!" The walking jet's hands slid in, shovels replacing them. "Brace yourselves!"

The X-Tornado leaned over, arms pumping as it dug deep in the bog. Suddenly it stopped, clearing away water and dirt from inside a hole. "I found something! But it's not a Chaos Emerald! It seems like it's metal!" Tails called.

A robot rose from the depths of the hole, red eyes glowing, marsh water dripping from it's blue body. It's head jerked up to stare at the horrified occupants of the X-Tornado.

"Isn't that Metal Sonic? What's he doing here? I thought we destroyed him!" Knuckles hissed from his seat, half-standing to get a better look.

"Remember Eggman sent a robot to get the Chaos Emeralds? He must have sent Metal Sonic!" Sonic glared at his metal self. "Now we've got to beat him!"

A red gem shone in the sunlight, in Metal Sonic's hand. The Chaos Emerald started to lose it's colour, becoming black and lifeless. It fell out of Metal Sonic's hand, starting to sink into the bog.

"Oh no you don't! Tails, get it!" Amy screeched.

A hand stretched out from the X-Tornado, grabbing the Chaos Emerald before quickly retracting. "Got it!" Tails cried out triumphantly. "Now we gotta take care of Metal Sonic!"

"I'm on it, little buddy!" Sonic flashed a grin and a thumbs up to his friends before jumping down. "Whoa! Uh oh." Sonic began sinking into the marsh.

"Sonic! Here!" Tails tossed two glowing objects to the blue blur, and received another grin for thanks.

Sonic's shoes transformed into hover skates, not unlike Shadow's, and he spun out of the marsh, speeding towards his metal doppelganger.

The blue hedgehog smashed through a tree - Metal Sonic had dodged him. Turning to attack again, Sonic stopped. _Where is that robot?_ He wondered.

"_Sonic! _Behind you!" Tails yelled from the X-Tornado. "Missiles - launch!"

Two compartments opened, allowing red-tipped missiles to shoot out, chasing Metal Sonic around the small clearing before he sank back into the bog, where the missiles couldn't reach him. Frowning, Tails leaned forward, trying to see where the robot had gone this time.

Sonic's cry of pain jerked him back to his hero. Metal Sonic had rushed up underneath him, throwing him high into the air. The blue blur spun down to attack, but he just slammed into the unstable ground, and it started to suck him in. The bog closed up over Sonic, until no one could see him.

"_Sonic!_" screamed Amy and Tails at the same time. Knuckles gripped the arm rests tightly, squinting at the shifting waters while Cream and Cheese covered their eyes, quivering slightly in their seats.

Metal Sonic diverted his gaze to the pilot of the X-Tornado. His eyes seemed to glow in triumph, casting a red sheen to the front of his face, and if he had a mouth, he probably would have had a evil grin plastered on his metal face. Slowly, he stalked towards the X-Tornado, eyes fixed on the distressed occupants.

Then, the ground lurched underneath the metal doppelganger, a blue blur shearing through him, cutting the robot to shreds. Sonic landed on the X-Tornado, soaked but otherwise fine. He shuddered, shaking himself to try to get rid of the moisture. "Never again. Too much water down there."

"Oh Sonic! I knew you would never leave me!" Amy cried. "I knew you were okay!"

"Well, that's that." Tails turned the X-Tornado back into a flying jet. "Let's go back to the Blue Typhoon Junior."

Back on the ship, Tails started searching for the next Chaos Emerald. "Why did Metal Sonic take the Chaos Emerald's powers? Why did he just leave the actual Emerald to the marsh?" Tails wondered out loud.

"He must've been rebelling again. Eggy just doesn't learn." Sonic sighed. "Eggman's gonna send another robot after the Chaos Emeralds now. We'd better hurry."

* * *

_Please review!_

_I don't actually know what marshes are made of. I'm pretty sure that it's made of mud and water and plants, though. Anyway, I'll be updating more frequently as I have nothing else to do...except school work...which I _don't_ want to do.  
_


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